Figure toy



Nov. 2 1935. H, LATTA 2,022,047

FIGURE TOY Filed June 13, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l VIII J;

IN VEN TOR.

L. H. LATTA Nov. 26, 1935.

FIGURE TOY Filed June 13, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

L. H. LATTA Nov. 26, 1935.

FIGURE TOY Filed June 13, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet '5 Nov. 26, 1935.

L. H. LATTA FIGURE TOY Filed June 15, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 26, 1935 A'lENT oFFicE 19 Claims.

The invention relates to that class of toys in which a crank in an axle connecting two of the travel wheels of the toy provides movement to actuate the figure of the toy. An object is to eliminate an objectionable feature that has characterized this type of toy wherein the figure is moved against'the pull of gravity, namely, the skidding of the wheels under the pull against the crank caused by the weight of the portion lifted thereby. In solving this problem, I provide for balancing the weight of the figure or that portion thereof which is lifted, so that the center of gravity of the entire toy will move in substantially a straight line. This result is secured l by the use of ecoentrically mounted wheels, ar-

ranged so that the axis of, eccentricity will move downwardly as the figure is lifted upwardly, the axis of eccentricity being that axis on which the axle is journalled relative to the base portion of the toy, whereby said base portion may lower as the lifted portion of the toy raises.

Another object is to provide a simple mechanism for transmitting movement from the front to the rear legs of a toy embodying front and rear legs swinging-1y attached to the body in a simulation of, for instance, a kicking donkey, whereby raising of the body relative to the front legs will cause the rear legs to kick upwardly.

Another object is to provide a novel inexpensive :mode of construction of a figure toy simulating a donkey or the like, wherein the legs are securely mounted on relatively thick axles which may be constructed, for instance, of dowelling, sawed to shape, such pivots solving certain problems such as the transmission of movement from the front to the rear legs through the medium of interengaging fingers secured to the pivots and concealed between the sides'of thebody in which the pivots are journalled. The thick wooden pivots, squared 40 at the ends, provide broad surfaces to which the legs may be securely glued and nailed, and the fingers, which may be made thus of thin fiat material, may be securely glued in slots sawed into the pivots intermediate their ends.

he invention contemplates, as one of the preferred forms of construction, the use of cardboard, printed and die-cut, for the body and leg parts, and also for the fingers, thus attaining cheap-ness. I havefound that such material is perfectly satisfactory if the legs are securely enough supported, and is easy to work with, taking glue readily, being easy to nail through, and being capable of being accurately shaped under die cutting, which is not true of wood,another 5 J alternative form of construction.

The invention provides for employing the lower ends-of the front legs of the animal, in one form of structure, as bearings for the front axle. An advantageof this structure is the accurate spacing of the axle bearings from the front leg pivots 5 which may be thereby obtained.

The invention contemplates that the fingers shall serve the additional function of supporting the body and legs in parallel planes and maintaining-the pivots at right angles to the body, a 10 function which becomes necessary where the pivot bearings comprise simply holes through the two closely spaced body sides of thin material such as cardboard. Without this feature there is a decided tendency for the legs to cant relative 15 to the body.

Another function of the rear finger is to provide a stop to prevent the rear legs from elevating beyond a desirable limit. In this connection, it

is to be noted that the preferred form of body 20,

structure is two sides spaced apart and secured together by a strip of material at the top of the body, inserted between the sides. The rear finger makes contact with this strip in acting as a stop.

Another object is to employ the fingers or 25 equivalent means for spacing the legsnlaterally relative to the body, whereby the legs may be spaced a substantial distance apart and yet remain centered relative to the body, in astructure wherein the legs are secured to cylindrical pivots 30 which pass freely through holes in the sides of the body.

In another form of the invention, only two legs, one front and one rear leg, are employed, and the fingers are formed integrally with such legs, 35 the pivots serving in this instance, merely as pivots. In this form, the tail may be formed integrally with the rear leg.

Another object is to provide, in that form of the invention simulating a donkey, means for re- 40 taining the. connecting rod which connects the axle crankto the body to transmit movement thereto. This is accomplished by passing the rod through a slot in the base to which the front legs of the figure are secured. 45

Other objects are to provide, in that form of the invention which simulates a kicking mule, an improved construction for securing the front leg of the two legged type to thebase; an improved means for securing the front legs of the. four 50 legged type to the base, wherein such securing means is employed also to-hide the edges of the base so that a rough sawed. block of wood may be employed for a base if desired; an improved structure for allowing the head of the figure to lower while the body raises; to provide a body structure involving a pair of sheet metal sides formed in a single sheet and connected by an integral web which forms the top or back of the figure when formed, which forms means for accurately positioning the two sides in spaced relation with their pivot holes registering with each other, and which serves as a stop to limit rear leg movement; and to provide a sheet metal body structure of this type in which a pair of cars at the lower extremity of the neck portions of the body serve to connect the body to the connecting rod, and form the terminations of a painted representation of a collar. 7

The present application is a continuation in part of abandoned application No. 509,725, filed January 19, 1931, abandoned June 15, 1933.

Practical features of the invention will be understood from the description hereinafter setting forth other objects and more definitely specifying the construction of the invention in its several forms in connection with the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through one form of the invention, wherein only two legs are embodied, the raised position of the figure being shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the body portion of this form of the toy,

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 33 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the base,

Figure 6 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 1,

Figure '7 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a modified form of the invention,

Figure 8 is an inverted plan view of the same,

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of Figure 8,

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view taken on the line lEillJ of Figure 9, 7

Figure 11 is a longitudinal, sectional view through a further modified form of the invention,

Figure 12 is a front elevation of the same,

Figure 13 is a detail sectional view taken on the line I3-l3 of Figure 11.

Figure 14 is a view of a further modified form of the invention,

Figure 15 is a front elevation of the same,

Figure 16 is a view of another modified form of the invention, and

Figure 17 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of the same.

This application is a continuation in part of application Serial Number 509,725, filed January 19th, 1931, allowed December 13th, 1932.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1-6, the base A is formed of sheet metal including the central body portion 10 and the side flanges H.

' The crank axle B has the trunnion portions 12 which are journalled in holes 13 punched in the flanges it of the base, the central crankportion ly, the trunnions 12 will also move downwardly, 75"

and the downward movement of the base ill and the forward portion of the figure C secured thereto will compensate for upward movement of the parts of the figure which are raised.

It will be seen that the important features of construction to secure balancing is that the axis of eccentricity shall move downwardly as the figure is raised. In speaking of the axis of eccentricity, reference is had to the axis of the trunnions l2.

It is not essential that the axis of eccentricity be intermediate the wheel axis and the axis of the central crank. For instance, instead of pulling, as the axle does in Figures 1-13, the

crank may lift the weight of the movable part by pushing upwardly, as in Figures 14 and 15. In this form of the invention, the movable part may comprise a head We, mounted on a neck i9! which is vertically slidable between the side walls I82 of a body representing, for instance, a duck, and the web members 193 and N34 to which thersides are secured. In this case the trunnions l2b are disposed on the opposite side of the wheel axis'from the crank I 4b which is journalled in the lower end of the neck ll]! The trunnions I22) are journalled in the lower regions of the sides I92.

The top It of the base is provided with a slot I8 through which the connector l9 extends (Figure 1). Since the slot constrains the connecting rod to a centered position, the crank may be made with broadly sloping sides 22] as shown.

The flanges serve as end bearings for the crank arms I6.

The figure C has the front leg 24, the head 25, and the combined rear leg and tail member D. The members 24, 25, and D may be formed of 3-ply wood, outlined by a bandsaw, or of material which may be die cut, such as cardboard.

The front leg 24 at its lower end is secured in a saddle 26, formed of a strip of metal, received in a slot 2'! in the base It and provided with flanges 29 which are secured against the upper surface of the base by tongues 29, struck up from the base and thence bent down against the flanges 28. The front leg may be secured between the walls of the saddle by punching the latter into the material of the leg as at 30.

The body member E comprises the fiat side walls 3! connected by an integral web 32 which partially conceals the interior mechanism of the figure from above, forms the back of the figure, and serves to space the side walls the correct distance apart.

The side walls are provided with smallopenings punched therein, these openings being designated in Figure 2 by the reference numerals 33, 36, and 35. The members 24, 25, and D are provided with pins 38, 3?, and '38, which may be simply driven through the material of these members and allowed to project on both sides thereof.

In assembling the figure, if the pins are secured in the members 24, 25, and D prior to assembly, the sides 3! are simply spread apart a trifle with the 'fingers and the members are inserted until the pins pass through the respec-' tive openings 33, 34, and 35. The sides are then brought together and the tongue 39, which is formed on one of the sides, is bent around the edge of the other side and upwardly thereagainst as shown in Figure 2. This will secure the sides against spreading.

The pivot 36 is positioned near the lower extremity of the body E, and the pivot 31 is positioned near the upper extremity of the neck portion of the'head-ZE. From the respectivepivots, the leg 24' extends upwardly to provide a curved cam surface 38-a-and the neck portion of the headextends downwardly to provide a cam surface 39--a which rides against the cam surface 38-41. The parts are arranged so that the point of contact between these cam surfaces remains close to the line connecting the pivots 36 and 3'! as the figure moves from one extreme to another. This'insures a maximum'freedom of movement between the head and front leg.

As the body raises, the head will drop downwardly at a faster rate than the forward end of the body. I

The front leg is provided with a finger 48 which projects rearwardly, and the member D is provided with a finger which projects forwardlyand'engages the lower surface of the finger 40.

The engagement of these fingers is rather close tothe line connecting the pivots 3t and 38, whereby the greatest ease of action is secured. The point of contact between the fingers moves rearwardly as the body moves upwardly, and consequently the speed with which the rear leg is raised will increase due to the ratio between the effective lengths of the fingers. This is desirable since the inertia of the rear leg must be overcome at the beginning of the lifting movement, and such inertia will gradually decrease as the leg "moves upwardly.

The rearedge of the web 3'2 acts as a stop to contact the tail 42, limiting upward movement of the rear leg.

The representation of a harness is painted on the flat sides 3| as by stencilling, and includes a belly strap 44 which registers with the tongue 39 so that the latter will not be unsightly. If desired the representation of a buckle is may be added, to give the effect that the tongue forms the-end of a strap inserted'therein. A painted representation of a collar it terminates at its lower end in a pair of ears i'l bent together' as illustrated in Figure 3, and perforated as at 48 to receive the upper end of the connector I9, which is hooked through the perforations as shown. The ears 41 also function to space the sidewalls 3! at their lower extremities.

An opening 49 in the base is provided to receive a pull cord.

Rear wheels 50 are mounted on a rear axle 5! journalled in the flanges ii.

The parts are arranged so that the rear leg 'may just-contact the base at the bottom of its path'of movement, thus constituting the device a sounding toy.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 7-10 inclusive, the base A is provided with a slot which opens into the forward end of the base. The cavity6l, which'maybe formed on a circular saw, accommodates the crank M as it rotates.

The figure 62 is band sawed of wood or the. like and comprises a'front leg 63 and rear leg 54. Thefront leg 63 is projected through the slot 60 and provided with a finger E5 resting against the lower side of the crank M. The leg is pivoted by means of a pin 66 to the under side of the baseflat'a position spaced rearwardly from the crank l4, whereby as the latter rotates, the finger will be oscillated causing the figure to be lifted and moved forwardly and thence allowed to "drop back until the rear leg 5 3 contacts the base.

The finger 65 is preferably formed by rneans of a slot Bl sawed into the front leg,'the-material above the slot "61 forming a frontfoot68 which has a slight amount of raising and lowering movement.

The rear wheels 69 may be secured to the base by means of pins 10 driven into the base.

A pull element H provides for attachment of a cord.

The'pin 65 is secured by staples 12 which 'hold 10 it in a groove 13 sawed in the base.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures ll, I2 and I3, the construction is adapted to the use of cardboard for the figure. In this case, the

body includes two separate side walls 3m, joined by gluing to a backbone strip 15 coinciding with the upper edges of said sides, and projecting to form the head 25a. These parts are'die out from stock which has been previously lithographed or color printed to provide the finish for the toy, on paper stock 16 glued to both sides of the. cardboard stock Tl (Figure 13). 'All cardboard parts may be out from the same sheet of board. The-paper covering 16 does not extend, however, over those portions of the board from which are cut the fingers 40a and Me, which are consequently provided with sufficient clearance to operate smoothly in the space defined by the thickness of the backbone l5 with its'double thickness of covering paper. I

The fingers 4M, 4 la, are glued into slots sawed 7 into the cylindrical wooden pivots l8, 19.

The pivots are journalled in round openings 80, 8| in the side walls so. They project considerably beyond the body, so as to give the legs 241L241; and 52d, natural spacing, and to provideroom for the crank' Mai, between the front legs 24a, in the lower projecting extremities of which it is journalled as at 82. In View of this wide spacing, the fingers Ma, Ma serve the additional function of preventing axial movement of the pivots'18, 19 relative to the body, and thushold the body centered relative to the front legs, and the rear legs evenly spaced from the body.

The rear finger Ma, has a rearwardly extending portion 83 which serves by contact with the backbone E5 to limit upward movement of the rear leg. The front finger 40a serves to support the body with the rear legs just slightly removed from contact with the base when at rest, but the 1 resiliency of the parts is such that thelegs may contact when returning downwardly from their elevated position. Wedging of the legs against the base is thus avoided.

The fingers 40a, Ma are sufficiently wide in height top-revent the body from oanting sidewise relative to the front pivot 78, and to prevent the rear legs from hanging askew relative to the body. I his has been discovered tobe an im-- portant problem in connection with the narrow body and the small amount of bearing space, in an axial direction, provided by the holes in the body.

The form of the front legs may be printed on to the fi'at ends of the pivots l9,thusgiving sethe lower regions of the members 24b'into which 65" cure support to the rear legs, which rely entirely on their attachment to the pivots for support.

The tail 98 is secured to a bevelled corner of the back I5 by gluing. The rear wheels 69w are secured by nails Illa.

The axle may derive its eccentricity from the eccentric points of attachment of the trunnions I 2b to the wheels, the end cranks being thus eliminated (Figure 15). The end cranks have the advantage, however, of making it impossible for the wheels to shift relative to the axis of eccentricity, since the end cranks are just sufiiciently long to bring the points of attachment of the axle to the centers of the wheels.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures "7-10, the bearings are formed by setting the trunnions in grooves 23 cut in the wooden base Illa, and covering them with metal plates 2| the edges of which are flush with the edges of the base, thus preventing the crank arms from catching in the grooves 23. Brads 22, driven into the base, secure the bearing plates 2|. Similar bearing plates Zia are secured to the lower ends of the front feet 240 of the form of the invention shown in Figures 16 and 17, and form bearings together with grooves 230, in the feet.

The toy shown in these figures may be made of wood, and the legs secured on the reduced ends III? of the pivots 73a, and 79a. -The body is formed of a single block of wood, grooved as at I I I to allow operation of the fingers 4 lb and 40b. The base in this case is simply a rod H2, U- shaped, its ends inserted in holes in the legs 240. A rear wheel I I3 is journalled on the cross member of the U-shaped rod IIZ.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wheeled figure toy, a base member, an axle, wheels attached to the ends thereof, a crank formed in said axle intermediate its ends, said axle being journalled relative to the base on an axis that is eccentric relative to the wheels and relative to said crank, and a figure including a member pivotally supported relative tothe base and an element constituting an operative connection between said pivotally supported member and the crank, said element serving to transmit movement from the crank so as to raise the pivotally supported member as the axis of eccentricity moves downwardly.

2. In a wheeled figure toy, supporting means comprising a base element and a leg element attached thereto, an axle, wheels attached to the ends thereof, a crank formed in said axle intermediate its ends, said axle being journalled relative to the supporting means on an axis that is eccentric relative to the wheels and relative to the crank, a figure body pivotally attached to said leg, and an operative connection between said crank and the body, serving to transmit movement from the crank so as to raise the body as the axis of eccentricity moves downwardly.

3. A figure toy comprising wheel mounted supporting means, a figure part movably carried by said supporting means for movement against gravity, an axle, wheels attached to the ends thereof, a crank formed in said axle intermediate its ends, said axle being journalled relative to the supporting means on an axis that is eccentric relative to the wheels and relative to the crank, and an operative connection between said part and the crank, serving to transmit movement from the crank so as to raise said part as the axis of eccentricity moves downwardly.

l. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising spaced sides, front and rear legs pivoted to the body, and fingers rigidly associated with the respective legs and projecting toward each other into overlapping relation between the sides, the rear finger contacting with the lower side of the forward finger to receive movement therefrom.

5. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising spaced sides, front and rear legs pivoted between said sides, and fingers integrally formed on the respective legs and projecting to ward each other into overlapping relation between the sides, the rear finger contacting with the lower side of the forward finger to receive movement therefrom.

6. In a figure toy, a figureincluding a body comprising spaced sides, spaced leg pivots extending transversely through the sides and journalled therein, front and rear legs secured to the respective pivots outside the body, and fingers secured to the respective pivots between the sides, said fingers projecting toward each other into overlapping relation, the rear finger contacting with the lower side of the forward finger to receive movement therefrom.

7. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising closely spaced sides of relatively thin material, spaced leg pivots extending transversely therethrough and journalled therein, front and rear legs secured to the respective pivots outside the body, and relatively wide flat fingers secured to the respective pivots between the sides, said fingers projecting toward each other in overlapping relation, the rear finger contacting with the lower edge of the forward finger to receive movement therefrom, and holding said pivot in a position centered and perpendicular to the sides.

8. In a figure toy, a figure comprising a front leg, a body member including a pair of sides between which the front leg is pivoted, a hind leg and tail formed integrally and pivoted between the sides, a finger projecting rearwardly from the upper end of the front leg, a finger projecting forwardly from the hind leg and tail member and contacting with the lower side of the front leg finger.

9. In a figure toy, a figure comprising a front leg, a body member including a pair of sides between which said leg is pivoted, a rear leg pivoted between said sides, fingers formed on the front and rear legs, the finger'on the rear leg being engaged beneath the finger on the front leg, a head including a neck portion pivoted near its upper rear extremity between the sides and depending into contact with the forward upper portion of the leg, the latter projecting above the front leg pivot.

10. In a figure toy, a body including closely spaced sides of relatively thin material, a leg pivot projecting transversely therethrough and journalled therein, legs secured to said pivot outside the body and spaced from said sides, and a fiat, relatively wide element secured to the pivot between said sides and holding the pivot in a position centered and perpendicular to the sides, whereby said legs are retained in properly spaced positions and parallel to the sides.

11. In a figure toy, a body including closely spaced sides of relatively thin material, a leg pivot of relatively large diameter projecting transversely therethrough, legs secured to the ends of said pivot, the pivot having a transverse slot intermediate its ends, and a fiat element secured in said slot between the sides and holding the pivot in a position centered and. perpendicular to the sides whereby the legs are retained in positions properly Spaced from and parallel to said sides.

12. In a figure toy, a base, a figure including spaced parts secured to the sides of the base and a movable part associated movably with said parts above the base, said spaced parts having portions projecting below the base, an axle journalled in said portions and formed with a crank between said portions, and an operative connection between said crank and the movable part, to transmit movement thereto.

13. In a figure toy, a base, a figure including spaced legs secured to the sides of said base and a body pivoted between said legs above the base, an axle journalled in said legs and formed with a crank between said legs, and an operative connection between said crank and the body for transmitting movement therebetween.

14. In a figure toy, a base formed of sheet metal and provided with a longitudinal slot, a saddle comprising a channel shaped member having depending side walls received between the side edges of said slot and terminating in flanges resting against the upper surface of the base adjacent the slot on either side thereof, means for securing said flanges in contact with the base, and a figure including a leg member received between the side walls of said saddle and secured thereto.

15. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising spaced sides and a back member connecting said sides, front and rear legs pivoted to the body, fingers rigidly associated with the legs and projecting toward and overlapping each other between the sides, the rear finger contacting the forward finger from below said forward finger to receive movement therefrom, and a stop member rigidly associated with said rear leg and. adapted to engage said back member to limit upward movement of the rear leg.

16. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising spaced sides and a back member connecting said sides, front and. rear legs pivoted to the body, fingers rigidly associated with said legs and projecting toward and overlapping each other between the sides, the rear finger contacting the underside of the forward finger to receive movement therefrom, and the forward finger contacting the underside of the back member to hold the body in a position wherein the rear leg will be suspended relative to the front leg.

17. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising spaced sides, front and rear legs pivoted to the body, and fingers rigidly associated with the respective legs and projecting toward each other into overlapping relationship for transmitting movement from one leg to the other, said fingers being embraced between said sides and thereby retained in operative engagement with each other.

18. In a figure toy, a figure including a body comprising spaced sides, spaced leg pivots extending transversely through the sides and journalled therein, front and rear legs secured to the respective pivots outside the body, and fingers secured to the respective pivots between the sides and projecting toward each other into overlapping relationship for transmitting movement from one leg to the other, said fingers being retained in operative engagement with each other by the embracing contact of the sides.

19. In a figure toy, a figure including a fixed leg, a body pivoted thereto on a horizontal axis, a movable leg pivoted to the body, fingers rigidly associated with said legs and projecting toward each other into overlapping relationship so as to cause the movable leg to swing upwardly relative to the body when the latter swings upwardly relative to the fixed leg, and means for raising the body relative to the fixed leg.

LYNN H. LATTA. 

